French and Spanish Regulators Pen Agreement

French regulator ARJEL has announced an information-sharing agreement for online gaming with its Spanish counterpart the DGOJ. The agreement, which marks a step towards (finally) pooling liquidity, is similar to the one ARJEL and the UK Gambling Commission signed in July.

Both ARJEL and the DGOJ are in discussions with regulators in other EU member states, such as Italy’s AAMS, according to reports. Officials in Italy, France, Spain and Portugal will meet before the end of the year to map out a more cohesive regulatory structure.

A statement released following a previous meeting this summer stated: “Discussions took place on the conditions necessary for a possible shared liquidity in certain games among some of the countries participating to the meeting.”

Enrique Alejo, the Director General of the DGOJ, says he is “hopeful” of securing a liquidity-sharing agreement with other European regulators. They need it. Both the French and Italian poker markets have declined, while other gaming markets have grown, due to the restrictive nature of segregated player pools. A cumbersome tax structure, particularly in France, doesn’t help either.